If you go and read Paul’s letters to Thessalonica (and other places) there is more spoken about the way their mutual love for him had encouraged him than any other thing they had done. For the Apostle there was always a desire to be physically present with the men and women of the local church. He is constantly hoping to go to places and see believers he had never met before. A kind of spiritual wanderlust motivated much of Paul’s missionary labors. It is worth asking the question about where this came from. Why did he think it so important, and needed, for his own well-being?

Of all people Christians should be the most concerned about personal piety. That word can be defined in many ways, but it simply means our interest in Jesus, and how we go about cultivating that faith. Lots of folks are involved in spiritual programs designed to make them better people. Yet, the follower of Christ’s way should look different both in the why we seek to be holy, and how we go about it. Our desire is not for an ever-changing scheme, but being grounded in the simplicity of the Christian faith. We should always be hopeful in answering any questions about what we believe, especially about why we do what we do. How we put that belief into practice in real life, not in our false conceptions of reality, but as things really are should be a straight-forward thing. However, that isn’t always the case for many. A false conception of their place in the Kingdom is belied by their lack of focus on a proper answer. That comes from a lack of interest in developing a right relationship with the Redeemer. Being a “God-fearer” is not sufficient, as James notes even the Devil is aware the Lord exists, that Jesus came to save sinners, and in that he still trembles. For a lively faith there needs to be some fruitful proof to our spiritual pudding. Nominal belief is a damnable offense against Jehovah God.
The Puritan Jonathan Dickinson says this:
Christianity consists not merely in speculation, but in practice. We must not only give our assent to the truth of the gospel, but give up our hearts to Christ. The faith which He requires is not a slight superficial belief that He is the Redeemer of mankind, but such a faith as will form us into subjection and obedience to Himself. 
In our worship and prayer help today we are going to think more deeply about our walk with Christ and how we can improve our desire to seek holiness. The reason this matters in the eyes of the Lord is that the goal of sanctification which begins in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is a non-negotiable in the Christian life. We are to be consistently and regularly dying to self and living to Jesus. A soul who regards the process of being made more like our Redeemer with a nonchalance gives rise to a concern that there is something seriously wrong, eternally so.
In our sermon this past Lord’s Day we heard this from Moses, “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.” There I highlighted that word “careful”. We’re watchful over the things that matter to us. If you are moved by this question then I have good news for you. God has granted a way to help in the fight.
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Written by Jeffrey A. Stivason |
Friday, September 30, 2022
The response of Habakkuk is not to pull up his bootstraps but to call upon the Lord. He asks him to bring about faith that shall enable him to live. It seems that this is an excellent example of where inducements ought to lead hearers. When they hear them, they should turn to the Lord.  However, it is also a good reminder for preachers and teachers. They are to persuade men, women, and children, yes, but they are to realize that God’s Spirit is the ultimate persuader.  They are only instruments in the hands of the Redeemer. They are not more. But they are certainly not less. May God make his ministers persuasive men.

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of pastoral work is the work of persuasion. In other words, how do we persuade others? How do we persuade unbelievers to see the beauty of Christ (II Cor. 5:11)? And how do we persuade Christians to do what they ought to want to do (Heb. 3:12)? The temptation for the minister is to act like a magistrate. However, there is a problem. We don’t have the power of a magistrate. John Chrysostom delineates the difference between the magistrate and the minister in his worthwhile, The Six Books of the Priesthood.[1]He writes,
“For Christians above all men are forbidden to correct the stumbling of sinners by force.  When secular judges convict wrong doers under the law, they show that their authority is complete and compel men, whether they will or no, to submit to their methods. But in the case we are considering it is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion.  We neither have authority granted to us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice. For this reason a lot of tact is needed, so that the sick may be persuaded of their own accord to submit to the treatment…and be grateful for the cure.”[2]
A page after this quote Chrysostom writes, “But if a man wanders away form the right faith, the shepherd needs a lot of concentration, perseverance, and patience.  He cannot drag by force or constrain by fear, but must by persuasion lead him back to the true beginning from which he has fallen away.”[3]Strikingly, we have an example in Scripture as to how to do this very thing.  The Christians in the book of Hebrews were thinking of deserting the Faith and returning the Judaism. And in Hebrews 10:32-39 we have an example of persuasion.  I’d like to briefly unpack the thought.  In other words, I am going to show the inducements used by the preacher to persuade.
The Experiential Inducement
The preacher encourages his hearers to “recall former days when, after you were enlightened…” In other words, he asked them to remember the early days of their faith when God’s gospel light poured through the windows of their soul (II Cor. 4:6).  Obviously, the days had become difficult.
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We can expect to be hated and persecuted by virtue of following Jesus. In the meantime, do your best to be a winsome ambassador for Jesus. Try to be as inoffensive as you can when addressing controversial topics. But when people are offended by your biblical values, don’t be surprised. That’s part of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

I often speak on controversial subjects: abortion, homosexuality, Islam, transgenderism, bioethics. These aren’t topics that are casually brought up over Christmas dinner and calmly discussed with out-of-town family. That’s why believers often ask me how they can stand for truth on controversial topics without being offensive. Here are three quick things I tell them.
First, I’m grateful for their concern to avoid being crass and offensive. I see too many believers who don’t care at all—or at least appear to not care. They use the truth like a club to beat people over the head. Grace? What grace? That’s for Christ to extend to non-believers, they say.
But believers should do whatever they can to communicate the truth in a winsome and gracious way. Scripture identifies them as ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). That means they represent Jesus with their life. How they come across to other people will be a reflection upon the good name of Jesus. Believers, therefore, should strive to speak in a warm, friendly, and kind manner. That’s especially necessary when they’re addressing a controversial topic.
Second, they need to manage their expectations. It’s unreasonable to expect people who hold a non-biblical worldview will find all our positions unoffensive as long as we communicate in a certain way.
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